Thread by @realjusthuman

🧵Update on DOJ's efforts to unseal Epstein and Maxwell grand jury material:

-DOJ has a filing due today answering 5 questions from Judge Berman (Epstein) and 3 questions from Judge Englemeyer (Maxwell).

-Letters from victims are beginning to hit the docket.

-One of Maxwell's attorneys has withdrawn from the case.

In Epstein, Judge Berman asked DOJ to

-Verify dates of the grand jury presentation(s)
-Provide all exhibits shown to grand jurors
-State whether DOJ seeks to unseal the exhibits as well as the transcripts (in an earlier filing they said they did)
-ID which exhibits are not public record
-Provide the court with analysis on how the Nolle Prosequi that ended this case when Epstein died may impact this current effort to unseal these materials.

Nolle prosequi means "not to wish to prosecute."

When Epstein died, the case needed to be dismissed, as it couldn't go forward without a defendant.

Here is that filing.

Judge Berman's July 22 order gave victims until Tuesday, August 5, to file letters.

Two letters just hit the docket.

The first letter purporting to be from a victim of Epstein is unsigned.

The second letter purporting to be from a victim of Epstein is signed Xxx-victim/survivor

I will assume these letters are genuinely from victims and, out of respect and consideration for them, refrain from commenting on their content.

I will highlight this portion of one of the letters, though.

In Maxwell, Judge Engelmayer ordered the DOJ to provide the court with answers to these three questions:

-State whether the DOJ is moving to unseal the exhibits as well as the transcripts
-ID the exhibits which are not already part of the public record, taking into account what was present to the grand jury, presented at trial, and what became public in other litigation (such as through Giuffre v. Maxwell)
- ID in the transcripts the information that is already public

So DOJ has homework due today in both cases. I'll update this thread with their filings once they turn them in.

Lastly, for now anyway, Maxwell's co-counsels, Christian R. Everdell and Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gresser LLP have withdrawn from the case.

Maxwell retained them back in July 2020 when she was indicted and arrested, and they represented her through the trial and sentencing.

But when Maxwell filed an appeal, she hired David Markus of Markus/Moss PLLC for that task.

And when DOJ made their motion to unseal the grand jury material, Markus filed as counsel of record in this case.

What's notable about all this is that David Markus is ALSO Hillary Clinton's counsel of record in Trump's civil RICO against Clinton et al.